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Your wrong simply send an email to TK and ask about the extra charge for stocks under $1 and others. Choicetrade is $5 a trade period and has prompt after hours trading, Zecco is alright except to my knoweledge they don’t have extended after market trading. Choicetrade must be the best kept secret in the brokerage market.

You are WRONG about Trade King. You need to ck out the ENTIRE list of tools. They have more than anyone else. There is not .01 per share either. I have been trading for over a month with them. the execution is blazing fast. the resolutions are the next day. Margin on $3 stocks. and also trail stops. trades are $4.95 PERIOD. i have used many brokerages over 15 years . and they are tops.

I’ve tried quite a few discount brokerages and continue to have Izone via (TD)Ameritrade. I have also kept Choicetrade which has been rock solid for me. I looked into TradeKing and fail to see the benefit of this brokerage, if I happened to buy a stock below $1 the cost is $4.95 plus $.01 for every share!

Obviously smart money does not take into consideration the fees that E-Trade hides from their customers. Like $40 a quarter for inactivity! I guess they have to get their money from somewhere to pay for their commercials and paying people like smart money to rank them #1. E-trades customer service is nowhere near getting five stars. They are rude, inconsiderate and uneducated. Stay away!

While I really like my broker to be cheap, my favorite one is still Scottrade, because it has a lot of tools for those who are just learning to invest. I can’t say enough about them.

There are usually codes online to get you a couple of free trades with scottrade. If you choose to open an account with them, you can get three free online trades (worth $21). Enter the code XEPG6413 in the box after selecting “referred by friend/received a promo code” on the application page.

TRADE KING is the best overall broker. with 4.95 trades and a host of trading tools it beats out some of the best. rated high in every survey taken. check it out

How the heck did thinkorswim not make it into this survey? Was it because of the consolidation with TD Ameritrade?

As for a new trader, first determine what you will be trading,futures,options,currenceies, and or stocks etc. . You will eventually may want to use someone’s software in order to help in your trading selections,auto or manual as there some very good ones out there. the problem is they most often require a certain trading platforms such as ninja or met trader 4 etc. . Do your homework first , it’s not all about finding the cheapest broker it’s what the broker has to offer. If I was a new trader I would want to find a broker who does not have inactivity fees and has demo account for sure. Hope this helps as knowing what you want to do first hand can save you time and maybe money also. Good luck,

Of the more well known online borkers (Ameritrade, Etrade, etc.), scottrade is the best for first time investors. They have good research tools, $7 trades (far less than the 9+ you’ll pay with the other guys), no inactivity fees and you can get 3 free trades using promotion code: SNEG9782. Again, it’s only $7 per trade no matter the quantity of shares purchased. Also, there are plenty of podcasts that show you the various tools available on the scottrade site.

Hi I hope someone can point me out to the best online discount brokerage firms to start with for a beginner who is in short both capital and experience beside what this article has already explained very well.

I tried opening an account with Ameritrade and was in the midst of asking some questions when the new account(s) representative hung up in my face. I considered that it was a dropped call but then waited for the representative to call me back at my contact number (listed in their records) and she didn’t. That confirmed to me that I was “hung up on.” This happened again with someone else at Ameritrade. I have concluded that they are trained to simply end the call and hang up when the questions become too challenging for them to answer. I have used E Trade and think the customer service, comparatively, is acceptable, but I never lose sight that they, just like the others, try to find ways to make money at the customer’s expense. E Trade is sneaky so you have to be careful with them. Pay close attention to their fees (that they don’t initially tell you about). Stay informed when trading with these online brokerage firms; it is the key to avoid getting ripped ...(Read more of this comment)off.(Show less of this comment)

I tried the double French twist for a trial competition today … definitely not easy to put up! And if you’re not careful, glasses-wearers will find themselves resembling Sarah Palin (perhaps more than they might want to). But it stayed up all day with no fly-aways and no bobby pin or ponytail holder headaches!! I will definitely do it again for all-day events.

I am in the process of picking a discount broker, my question after reading the replies regarding brokerage service along with banking, what about USAA. Why are they not mentioned? Thank you, Stefanie

Zecco is NOT a top online broker by any means. Its service is crappy and its website is filled with useless eye candy. Zecco girls or Zecco sirens as the broker calls them – is nothing but alluring content without substance. Are people here to invest or to ogle at girls anyhow?

If you want a nicely integrated bank and broker company – try the brokerages who are affiliated with major banks like Citibank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo Bank. ETrade is not affiliated with a major bank but they’re well known for offering decent bank and credit card products. I think their credit cards used to offer very good cash back rewards and low rates, though I’m not sure about now. Citibank offers brick and mortar banking branches and runs its brokerage firm through Smith Barney (not sure this will be the case if Citibank eventually decides to sell off its Smith Barney investment arm due to its struggling status). Bank of America’s brokerage arm is thriving based on reports on CNBC Wells Fargo’s brokerage division is WellsTrade, which SmartMoney Mag has listed up there in the table…but it’s low in the rankings at #12 for some reason

Well I’ve stayed with Ameritrade ever since they bought out my old, old broker Datek (the original deep discount online broker) back in ‘02. The nice days of cheap fees and the new stock ticker! Then they bought out TD Waterhouse again, which I guess has improved their service. However, I’ve been pondering the need for an integrated online bank and online broker way and Ameritrade doesn’t quite have the features I need any longer. Which cheap brokers also offer good bank functions and features with perhaps retail branches like traditional banks? On the chart it looks like Etrade, Fidelity, CharlesSchwab, Banc of America, and Wellstrade offer the best bank servies (5 star each). Any recommendations? They all look pretty good after checking them out

Strangely, I’ve heard bad things about Etrade’s customer service from some online forums and blogs – go figure. Guess it goes to show that for every top online broker – there is a horde of naysayers and detractors. I challenge you to find a single broker that does not have negative comments posted on various websites. Fidelity is a top 5 online broker, but what happened to Vanguard? Vanguard Group should be up there at the very least for their awesome index and mutual funds. They’ve got some of the cheapest funds available with some of the lowest expense fees around. Vanguard’s customer service is highly rated too with great customer satisfaction. Charles Schwab is great too…but is it really a discount online broker? Since when did they become a discount broker? Their fees and charges are not that cheap. They ought to be classified as a semi-premium broker with the likes of Morgan Stanley, and even Wells Fargo’s brokerage arm and Bank o...(Read more of this comment)f America’s(Show less of this comment)

I am surprised that a brokerage like Think or Swim, MB Trading, and Interactive Brokers doesn’t make this list. They are all receive top marks from Barron’s. I know like MB Trading at IB require like a min 10k, but TOS is 3k. TOS has superior charting software that they provide you with for free. They as well have a web-based trading platform for those who have their desktop software blocked by company firewall (when at work). They offer you the option of .015/share (5 dollar min) or a flat 9.95 a trade if you trade more than 5,000 shares a month.

I rolled my 401k into Vanguard because I liked the selection of funds. I think that your best option is to go with Vanguard or Fidelity if your intent is to go with funds. Check the funds you want, compare expense ratios, and pick the cheapest one. I know that Fidelity’s Spartan 500 index fund has a 0.10% expense ratio whereas Vanguard’s 500 Index has a 0.18% expense ratio, so if you were to go all S&P 500 index then Fidelity is a better choice. You’ll have to do the legwork to figure out that comparison for all the funds you’re interested in.

Just came across this site. I am looking for broker to open IRA account to rollover 401k. Which is better among Vanguard, Fidelity and TD Ameritrade? I am going to invest the money to various funds. TD Ameritrade is advertising $500 reward for rolling 401k, which is very tempting but suspicious that there might be catch. I will appreicate your opinions. Thanks.

I have Fidelity and I am very happy. I will admit however that I do not have any experience with other brokers.

Not much change from last year, it looks like. Though, I do love how Charles Schwab had lowered the operating expenses for a number of its equity mutual funds. And their min investment amount is merely $100!

That would be a question for me as well. A friend of mine who is not a citizen or permanent resident is using TradeKing. It would be interesting to find out what restricts one to use ETrade.

Can international users who are not citizens or affiliated with the country the stock being traded use these services? I tried E*Trade once but I needed to be a US/Canadian Citizen or be living in the country permanently to participate.